Pinterest group boards

How to leverage Group Boards to reach your audience

In this lesson you'll learn:

  • How to find and join high-quality Pinterest group boards that can exponentially increase your content's reach
  • The step-by-step process to create and manage your own successful group board that attracts engaged contributors
  • Strategic techniques to leverage group boards for maximum visibility and drive qualified traffic to your business

Pinterest group boards are a powerful — but often overlooked and underappreciated — tool in your marketing arsenal. These collaborative spaces allow multiple users to pin content to the same board, potentially exposing your business to thousands of new eyes with minimal extra effort.

What are Pinterest Group Boards (and why should you care)?

Pinterest group boards (also called collaborative boards) are shared spaces where multiple Pinterest users can pin content to the same board. Unlike your personal boards, group boards have multiple contributors who can all add Pins, creating a collective resource around a specific topic or theme.

You can identify group boards by looking for the profile circle icon in the bottom-left corner of the board thumbnail that shows multiple user avatars—this indicates a board with multiple contributors.

🔍 Did you know?:
When someone follows a Pinterest user, they only automatically follow that user's personal boards and the group boards they own—not all the group boards they contribute to. This makes owning your own group board particularly valuable for building a dedicated audience!

Group Boards evolution over time

Group boards have always been about collaboration, but over time their role has evolved. Initially, they were primarily for group projects or shared interests. Now they're a strategic tool for businesses to expand reach and build community.

The marketing magic of Group Boards

Group boards work like marketing multipliers for your small business. Here's why they're worth your time:

  1. Expanded Reach: When you pin to a group board, your content is seen by all the board's followers, not just your own.
  2. Community Building: Contributing to relevant group boards positions you as a valuable member of your industry community.
  3. Traffic Generation: With the right strategy, group boards can drive significant traffic to your website.
  4. SEO Benefits: More people seeing and saving your Pins helps boost your Pinterest SEO.
Group Boards offer a lot for small business marketers. You can expand your reach to new segments of your audience, improve your pinterest seo with increased engagement, establish you as an authority in your niche, and drive high-converting, qualified traffic to your website.
🔑 Key takeaway:
Group boards offer a unique opportunity to tap into existing audiences and build relationships within your niche.

Finding high-quality Group Boards in your niche

Not all group boards are created equal. Here's how to find ones that will actually move the needle for your business:

Search methods to find relevant boards for your business:

  1. Pinterest Search: Type your niche keywords + ‘group board’ in the Pinterest search bar
  2. Profile Mining: Check what group boards your competitors or industry leaders contribute to.
  3. Specialized Tools: Use PinGroupie.com to search directories of available group boards.
It's important you find boards that are a good match for your business using pinterest search, other people's profiles, and specialized pinterest marketing tools.

When evaluating potential boards, look for these quality indicators:

  • Engagement Rate: Are Pins getting meaningful saves and comments?
  • Contributor Quality: Are contributors posting relevant, high-quality content?
  • Follower Count: While not the most important metric, a healthy follower count indicates potential reach.
  • Posting Frequency: Active boards with regular (but not overwhelming) posting schedules.
  • Relevance to Your Business: The more aligned with your niche the better.
To find the best boards for your business, look at the engagement rate, quality of contributions, how many followers it has, how often it gets updates, and, most importantly, whether it's aligned well with your business and audience interests.
🎯 Pro tip:
Don't just join the largest group boards you can find. Boards with moderate size but higher engagement and closer relevance to your niche will typically drive more qualified traffic.

Quick action steps:

  1. Spend 10 minutes searching Pinterest for group boards in your niche.
  2. Identify 3-5 potential boards to investigate further.

Joining your first Pinterest Group Boards

Once you've identified promising group boards, it's time to join them. Here's how to do it right:

  1. Read the board description carefully: Many board owners include specific instructions for joining.
  2. Look for the ‘Request to Join’ button: Some boards allow direct requests through Pinterest.
  3. Craft a compelling request message: When contacting board owners, include:
    • A friendly greeting using their name
    • Why you want to join their specific board
    • How your content will add value
    • Your Pinterest profile link
    • A thank you for their consideration
  4. Follow up politely: If you don't hear back in 1-2 weeks, a gentle follow-up is appropriate.
📌 Tailwind tip:
Use Tailwind's scheduling tools to ensure you're consistently pinning to group boards even during your busiest periods.

Group Board etiquette:

  • Reciprocate: Repin other contributors' content. The quickest way to get people to stop working with you is to create a one-sided relationship. Be generous! Give more than you get.
  • Stay on Topic: Only pin content relevant to the board's theme.
  • Engage: Comment on and save Pins you find valuable. Contribute to conversations, help when possible.
  • Don't Spam: Avoid excessive self-promotion.
Avoid posting low quality pins, inconsistent participation, ignoring the rules, self-promotion, and ignoring analytics.

Creating your own Pinterest Group Board

While joining existing boards is valuable, creating your own group board gives you more control and positions you as a leader:

Step-by-step board creation:

  1. Start with a regular board: Create a new board or convert an existing one.
  2. Add a clear, keyword-rich name: Make it obvious what the board is about.
  3. Write a detailed description: Include keywords and board rules.
  4. Select a compelling cover image: Visual appeal matters!
  5. Invite collaborators: Click ‘+’ next to your profile picture on the board and choose ‘Invite Collaborators’.
Start your own Group Board easily. Put a lot of thought into the topic, name, description, and cover image so it appeals to your audience.

Running a successful Group Board:

Set clear guidelines for contributors, such as:

  • Pin quality expectations
  • Pin-to-contribution ratio (e.g., For every Pin you add, repin 2 others)
  • Content relevance requirements
  • Pinning frequency limits
  • Rules against spam or duplicate content
Quick tip:
Start by inviting 5-10 trusted collaborators to build initial momentum before opening your board to a wider audience.

Promoting your Group Board:

  • Share the board link on your other social media platforms.
  • Mention it in your email newsletter.
  • Invite relevant Pinterest users directly.
  • Cross-promote with other group board owners.

Leveraging Group Boards for maximum business impact

The true power of group boards comes from how you use them as part of your broader Pinterest strategy:

Strategic Pinning practices:

  • Create custom Pins for group boards: Design eye-catching Pins.
  • Space out your contributions: Don't flood boards.
  • Pin at optimal times: Test different posting times.
  • Track performance: Monitor which group boards drive the most traffic.
  • Content Mix Ratio Guide: Aim for a mix of your own content and other relevant content. A good starting point is 80% your content, 20% others' content.
To improve your board's chances of success, create unique pins, space them out, mix in other people's content, post at the optimal times, and monitor top-performers.

Common Group Board mistakes to avoid:

  • Quantity over quality: Focus on fewer, high-quality boards.
  • Inconsistent participation: Sporadic pinning reduces your visibility.
  • Ignoring board rules: This is a fast way to get removed.
  • Self-promotion only: Contribute value by repinning others' content too.
  • Neglecting analytics: Not tracking which boards drive real results wastes effort.
🛠️ Tools of the trade:
Use Pinterest Analytics to track referral traffic from different boards. Look for metrics like clicks, impressions, and saves to identify which group boards are worth your continued investment of time.

Key metrics to track:

  • Impressions: How many times your Pins are seen.
  • Saves: How many times your Pins are saved.
  • Clicks: How many times users click through to your website.
  • Follower Growth: Track the increase and compare it to before you were utilizing group boards to gauge effectiveness.

Pinterest group boards remain one of the most effective yet underutilized tools for small business owners looking to expand their reach without massive time investments. By thoughtfully selecting, joining, and creating group boards relevant to your business, you can tap into established communities, showcase your expertise, and drive qualified traffic to your website.

Key takeaways:

  • Pinterest group boards multiply your content's reach by allowing you to share Pins with established audiences — look for boards with high engagement rates and clear relevance to your niche for best results.
  • When joining group boards, carefully follow board rules and maintain consistent, valuable contributions while avoiding common mistakes like over-promotion or sporadic posting.
  • Creating your own group board gives you more control and establishes thought leadership — start with clear guidelines, quality contributors, and regular monitoring of board performance.